Press Releases
Bipartisan Group of Senators Presses Federal Regulator for Clear Guidance on Banking Services for Vendors Working with Legal Marijuana Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley pressed a key federal regulator to take further action to ensure that vendors working with legal marijuana businesses in states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana do not have their banking services taken away. In states that have legalized recreational or medicinal marijuana, conflicting federal policies have led most financial institutions to deny banking services to legal … Continue Reading
December 12, 2016
Wyden Calls for Preservation, Distribution and Declassification of Torture Report
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today renewed his call for the president to preserve, distribute and declassify the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's Study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program. He said the president's decision to establish the study as a presidential record falls far short of what's necessary. "We're going to start on the very first day of the new session building a bipartisan coalition to get the study declassified. The American people … Continue Reading
December 09, 2016
Wyden Statement on End-of-Year Government Funding Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today voted against the end-of-year, must-pass bill to fund the government because the bill leaves out essential reforms for vulnerable children in foster care and protections for the families of mine workers. "Republican leaders touted this as a clean extension of noncontroversial, already agreed-upon policies. Instead, Republicans are skipping town without extending tax policies that protect middle class homeowners and jobs and without … Continue Reading
December 08, 2016
Senators Urge President-Elect Trump to Live Up to Campaign Promises and Clarify Whether He Opposes Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) andalong with 19 fellow senators, today sent a letter calling on President-Elect Donald Trump to remind him of his campaign promises to reject cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and to ask that he clarify whether he still intends to do so. The letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), … Continue Reading
December 08, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Urge Senate to Extend Critical Lifeline for Rural Communities
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley urged the Senate to keep the government's promise to rural communities in Oregon, 40 other states and Puerto Rico by passing legislation that would provide vital funding for schools, law enforcement and essential road repairs. Since payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act expired last year, Wyden and Merkley have been working to reauthorize the program to ensure counties will receive a payment next spring … Continue Reading
December 07, 2016
Wyden Asks Congress to Pass Historic Bipartisan, Bicameral Child Welfare Reform Bill
Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today voted against the 21st Century Cures Act because Republican leaders stripped bipartisan, bicameral child welfare legislation out of the final bill. Wyden then asked for unanimous consent that the Senate pass the Family First Prevention Services Act, which has the support of almost 500 child welfare organizations across the country, including the Children's Defense Fund, the American Academy of Pediatrics and … Continue Reading
December 07, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Praise Passage of Their Siletz and Grand Ronde Land Bills
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today praised the passage of their two bills that would streamline the Bureau of Indian Affairs process for putting land into trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. This week's House approval of the two bills written by Wyden and Merkley follows Senate approval on July 14 and sends the legislation to the desk of President Obama. "These bills mark a significant step forward for … Continue Reading
December 07, 2016
Wyden Statement on Defense Authorization Bill
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on his vote against the National Defense Authorization Act. "This bloated defense bill is exactly what Americans hate about politics as usual. It increases defense spending by billions at the same time Republicans insist we can't afford to pay to repair our roads and bridges, support Oregon's timber counties or fix wildfire funding. It breaks last year's bipartisan budget deal. And once again, this bill does far too … Continue Reading
December 06, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Call on Government Accountability Office to Study Impacts of Genetically Modified Foods on Hunger, Pesticide Use
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley in a letter today called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether genetically modified foods are reducing hunger and the use of pesticides in the United States and worldwide. The senators asked the GAO to study the use of genetically modified (GMO) crops in the United States after a New York Times investigation raised questions about whether the use of GMO crops increased overall crop yields and … Continue Reading
December 05, 2016
HANFORD: Wyden, Murray, Cantwell Call on Top Energy Official to Immediately Implement New Worker Safety Recommendations
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), urged the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to protect workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state by implementing new safety recommendations. The recommendations were released this week after a months-long review to address chemical vapor exposures at the Hanford tank farms by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and … Continue Reading
December 01, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Call on Justice Department to Continue Rigorous Investigations into All Reported Hate Crimes
Washington, D.C. - In a letter to the Department of Justice, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley called on the department to continue investigating all instances of reported hate crimes in the United States and to prosecute perpetrators of such crimes. Wyden and Merkley specifically noted that reports of hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, African-Americans and LBGTQ individuals have risen nationwide over the last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The … Continue Reading
November 30, 2016
Wyden Leads 7 Senate Intelligence Committee Members Calling on the President to Declassify Information re: Russia and the U.S. Election
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led 7 members of the Senate Intelligence Committee today, in asking President Obama to declassify information relating to the Russian government and the U.S. election. Intelligence Committee members Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Angus King, I-Maine, Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and ex-officio member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., joined the letter. "We believe there is additional information concerning the Russian … Continue Reading
November 30, 2016
Bipartisan Senators Question Rush to Expand DOJ Hacking Authority Without Congressional Oversight
Washington, D.C.-Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., today made a last-ditch effort to delay broad new government hacking authority that is now set to go into effect tomorrow. Wyden, Coons and Daines asked the Senate to pass or vote on three separate measures to block or delay a set of new rules that would broadly expand government hacking authority without any Congressional input or hearing. The bipartisan group of senators has repeatedly asked for … Continue Reading
November 29, 2016
Wyden-Backed Bill to Detail Economic Benefits of Outdoor Recreation Economy to Become Law
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., applauded the Senate's passage this week of bipartisan legislation that he pushed to study the economic benefits of outdoor recreation. The Outdoor Recreation's Economic Contributions (REC) Act would inform policymakers and business leaders on the number of jobs created and the amount of consumer spending driven by the U.S. outdoor recreation economy. Last year, Wyden and Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., sent a letter urging the … Continue Reading
November 22, 2016
Wyden, Coons: DOJ Dodges Senate Questions About Government Hacking
Washington, D.C. - Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and Chris Coons, D-Del., are deeply disappointed with the Justice Department's failure to substantively answer many of the questions by 23 U.S. lawmakers about a new expanded mass hacking authority that is set to go into effect next month if Congress does not act. "The American people deserve answers to these very basic questions about how our government intends to hack thousands or millions of personal devices with a single warrant," Wyden said. … Continue Reading
November 19, 2016
Wyden Statement on Announcement of General Michael Flynn for National Security Adviser and Nomination of Rep. Mike Pompeo to lead CIA
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement regarding national security officials announced today by President-elect Trump's transition team. "The designation of Michael Flynn to be National Security Adviser is deeply alarming. His statements about Muslims are profoundly un-American as well as damaging to the fight against terrorism and national security. He has indicated an openness to torture and the … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Drumbeat Against Bannon Grows as Senators Call for His Dismissal
WASHINGTON - Today, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined a group of Senators led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in signing a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump urging him to repudiate his hate-filled campaign attacks, and to show the country that he is serious about uniting Americans by immediately firing newly-appointed Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. In addition to Senators Wyden and Merkley, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Wyden Statement on Director Clapper’s Resignation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the announcement of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's resignation: "During Director Clapper's tenure, senior intelligence officials engaged in a deception spree regarding mass surveillance. Top officials, officials who reported to Director Clapper, repeatedly misled the American people and even lied to them. In 2012 you saw the Director of the NSA make statements like 'we don't hold data … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Wyden Denounces Delaying Rural Broadband Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following the announcement by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remove agenda items from its November 17 Open Meeting, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today raised serious concerns about Republican efforts to delay critical programs that preserve and extend mobile broadband and voice services in rural America. Congressional Republicans recently wrote to the FCC, requesting the Commission halt activity on new rulemakings after November 8, 2016. "I regularly hear … Continue Reading
November 03, 2016
Wyden: FBI Leadership Failures Underscore Need for Independent Oversight, Limits on Government Surveillance
Washington, D.C. - Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement, in response to ongoing, unchecked leaks at the FBI, and a pattern of poor judgement by FBI Director James Comey: "The continued leadership failures at the FBI are another reminder we can't let intelligence agencies say 'trust us' and then give them a blank check to probe into Americans' lives," Wyden said. "While I've argued for years that Congress must create ironclad protections for Americans' security and … Continue Reading
